KYIV
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a 190 million euro loan to Ukraine’s state road agency Ukravtodor for further improvements to the country’s road infrastructure.
The loan is a part of a 450 million package to finance the upgrade of sections of the M-05 Kyiv-Odessa road in the Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv and Odessa regions.
The provision of the new tranche follows efforts by Ukravtodor to review its governance systems, with a view to advancing reforms, the EBRD said.
“These include a comprehensive anti-corruption action plan developed by independent experts, which was approved by a high-level steering group comprising representatives of the government, the president’s office, the EBRD and Ukravtodor itself,” the bank said in a statement.
The plan, which is already being implemented, envisages a robust approach to integrity compliance, improved corporate governance and internal anti-corruption controls, policies and procedures. It also aims to pave the way for a culture of integrity throughout the organisation.
Ukravtodor’s effort to fight corruption in road building is the pilot programme under the memorandum of understanding signed in October 2020 between the government of Ukraine and the EBRD to strengthen corporate governance in the state sector. It is seen as a litmus test for a broader anti-corruption and good governance programme backed by the EBRD and targeting Ukrainian state-owned enterprises and public-sector entities.
In addition, Ukravtodor has prepared an e-mobility action plan to support electric-vehicle deployment in the country and is establishing a Road Safety Department.
In September, the EBRD allocated a 140 million euro loan to Ukraine for upgrading the heating and hot water supply systems in the capital, Kyiv.
The loan has been disbursed to Kyivteploenergo, the capital’s heating and hot water utility, and will finance the modernisation of existing combined heat and power plants and selected boiler houses as well as the installation of a new dispatching and monitoring system, the EBRD said.
The EBRD funding will be co-financed by a joint contribution from Kyiv municipality and Kyivteploenergo of at least 26 million euros. This new equipment will be fully compliant with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive.
The improvements will enhance energy and resource efficiency as well as the quality and reliability of heating and hot water supply to residential and non-residential customers. The investments will result in annual savings of more than 193,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and 25,000 cubic metres of water yearly.
Ukraine is in the EBRD’s top-three investment destinations. To date, the EBRD has invested almost 16 billion euros in 506 projects across the country, with a focus on assisting economic stabilisation, anchoring reforms, strengthening energy efficiency and energy security, and supporting agricultural and industrial projects as well as smaller businesses. In the past two years alone, the bank has committed 2 billion euros to the economy.